Song listened to: 'Beauty From Pain' by Superchick.
"Did you hear the news?"
The quite little fledgling looked up at the call, meeting the eyes of her best friend, and shook her head as she tilted it to the side in wonder to his exclamation. Zaveriel sat next to her on the broken column. The fighting had come to a stop nearly a day ago and already the silence was deafening, where the clash of swords and graces once exploded was nothing but silence, and those brave enough began to creep out from their hiding spots to see what had caused the pause.
"No. What happened? Another sanction?"
"No, not another.", the exiled messenger shook his head, tucking a stray strand behind his ear "Word on the street is that Father has returned."
That had caught her attention, and she turned back to stare at him with wide eyes, perhaps there was hope after all. Father would never stand to see them fighting, right? He would stop it.
"Rumor also has it that He brought the four Archangels back."
"We don' need no Archangels."
"But what if they changed?"
She shook her head, and he knew in that moment that when the most forgiving of fledglings didn't excuse one for their wrongdoing that it was most certainly a deeper problem. He couldn't blame her though, the Healer and Prince had tried to separate her Choir, they thrown them in the prisons without thought, they'd treated them with such disgust it was a wonder why they hadn't just disappeared like his master had. Though perhaps locking oneself up in a broken Pantheon was something akin to disappearing.
"Is Daddy really back?"
He nodded, standing from his place next to her, and held out his hand. Zaveriel knew she wouldn't believe him unless she saw for herself, and though the brave little fledgling looked unsure about it, she took his hand and hopped down from the upturned pillar.
They walked down the cracked Axis Mundi, watching in silence as others slowly crept out to explore the silence, they ducked as the two Powers stepped by, and quickly turned a corner when they kept on in their direction and didn't bat an eye at them, but they quickened their pace for the next few minutes just to make sure they weren't easily followed.
The two of them walked, hand in hand, passed the darkened Infirmary. It had gone silent the day the gentle Healer had picked up his staff and meant harm with it. The day he turned away from the gentle nature he was known for and turned into a battle-hardened Commander of Heaven.
They ventured passed the empty Aerie, Zaveriel stopping their stride to stare forlornly at his old home, and his friend never made any mention of the tears that gathered in his eyes. It was no secret to her the failure he thought himself to be. He had been made second in command of the Aerie in the case of the Messengers demise, and he'd taken command, only for a week, before they were stormed by the Powers and Virtues and torn apart. His anger at his master for abandoning them outweighed some of the sadness though, and his free hand clenched into a tight fist, before Akeelah tugged on the one, she had in her grasp and they turned to continue on their way.
The Throne Room doors were open.
They stood open.
After being sealed for as long as they had been, the fledgling could do nothing but stare at the sight of them being open again, standing at the bottom of the stone steps that lead up to the entrance.
"Come on" her friend tugged on her hand this time as he stepped up to the first step "Seeing is believing, right?"
She nodded and followed up the first step with him, and then the second and the third, they steadily climbed the stairs slowly and cautiously. The messenger's fingers curled around the hilt of the short sword tucked into the belt that wrapped around his waist, as though preparing for a sneak attack at their foolish wandering into the unknown. They stopped just over the edge of the final step, staring at the large open doors, it having been so long since they had seen them reveal the souls within.
'Enter My children.'
The strong voice made her gasp softly in surprise, her fingers tightening around her friends, and she turned to look up at the messenger in hope. They knew that voice, every angel knew that voice, and they turned back to stare at the wide-open doors for another minute without daring to move.
Zaveriel gripped her hand tighter and stepped up and over the last step. He led her across the stone veranda and through the opened doors. There sitting on the Throne was a being they knew instinctively, in the form of a Man, rainbow eyes saddened as they watched them draw closer, dark curls framing His face as though He wore a crown on His head, a well-manicured beard adorned His chin, and His robes the same smooth dark blue they always were. He was just as big as they remembered Him being, still at least five and a half heads taller then them, even sitting as He was.
They were not the first ones to make their way here, there was a small crowd, one waved at the fledgling. A young boy, perhaps a few eons older then her, and she stared at him for a long moment before shaking her head and turning away from him. Zaveriel watched the heartbreak flit across his features, before he could quickly conceal it, and he huddled in on himself again.
"My children, we've been waiting on your arrival, you are the last."
He waved a hand and guards unseen pulled the grand oak doors shut behind them, it echoed a soft boom around them, and they crept closer to Him with careful steps. He bent forward in His throne, reaching out a hand to them.
"Let me return what has been so wrongfully taken from you."
His fingers brushed over the messengers temple, and he fell to his knees in pain, his hand falling from his friends as he instead reached up with both to clutch at his head as images swirled and retook their hold. Emerald robes and dark fingers. Electric blue eyes and the soft echo of humming. Golden wings and soft chuckles. Peppermint and chamomile wafted through his senses. He heard laughter, it was young and rich, and saw in his mind the image of a young angel running away from a taller one, they were caught, and the elder tossed them up above their head. The same laughter echoed from before, this time running from another with golden eyes and a bright smile. He remember his choosing day; the proud smile of a familiar dark-skinned man and the delighted grin of one with rich golden eyes.
The world was spinning around him, his head throbbing as memories assaulted him all at once. Memories he didn't even know he was missing. He saw himself being dragged, against his will, pulling uselessly against the solid grip towards the dark imposing building, his eyes frantically looked from one side to the other as he was strapped down in a hard-cold metal chair. The whirling of a drill echoed in his ears, the briefest glimpse of a cruel smile, and then there was darkness.
Someone was shaking his from the side, little fingers digging tightly into his arm, and he finally looked up from under his hands, unfolded from himself, to the terrified eyes of his little friend.
"Zaves? Zaves! Are you 'kay! What happened! What He do!"
He grabbed onto her hands, lest she keep shaking him despite her having his attention, and to help alleviate his pounding headache "I…I remember. I remember it all Akeelah. The laughing and the eyes and the humming! The humming Akeelah!"
He stood back from them, watching the both of them with saddened eyes, but not daring reach for the petrified fledgling until she allowed Him to. It broke His heart to see what had been done to His children, grown and young, and He wanted to mend what He could. But moving too fast for the traumatized fledgling would do more harm then good, and His intention was not to bring anymore harm, to let His children begin to heal.
"Let Him do it. You don't know you don't remember until you do.", Zaveriel looked up at his friend, and then over her to his Father, his eyes wide as his mind continued to spin "Akeelah let Him help you remember."
She watched him for a long while, staring at him, unsure of it all. But her courage won out, and she turned shyly to look up at the tall Man. He smiled kindly to her in return of her attention, and reached His hand out again, His fingers brushed over her temple and her eyes widened.
Zaveriel caught his friend when her knees buckled under her, eyes clenched shut, little fists pressing hard to either side of her head as thing swirled before her minds eye.
Tunes and melodies, singing from all around, cool grace brushing against her. A large hand resting on her head. Another angel, female in stature, waving towards her in distress, and bright ice blue eyes turning to look at her in curiosity, a deep voice responding to the distressed elder kindly. Arms curling around her as she jumped around, the songs echoing in her ears, cool lips pressing kisses just behind her ear, and the echo of bright giggles ingulfed her in its sound. Rose gold feathers brushing over her face, over her arms, playful in nature, the same deep voice singing softly along to the song that echoed around her head. The scent of pine and cinnamon wafted against her senses, curling around her like an invisible blanket, it was a familiar scent, but she couldn't name where she knew it from. Blonde hair. Icy blue eyes. More rose gold feathers. The deep voice. Humming. Singing. She knew it all.
And all at once her eyes widened in recognition, she looked up in the saddened eyes watching her so carefully, and He nodded at her silent question.
"You remember?"
She nodded, and He smiled sadly down at her, kneeling to rest a large hand on her head.
"He remembers you. He shouldn't have had favorites. But you were his."
With the good memories came the bad though. The line of Powers marching an elder bound with glowing chains. The fearsome Prince breaking rose gold wings. The terrified screech that echoed around them when they were pushed down into the dark Abyss below. The clashing of swords and screaming of those perished at the hands of brother and sisters. It all came back in equal fashion.
She was happy she remembered.
But wished she didn't remember it all.